US launches new strikes on Iran, hits Bushehr IRGC facility, Chabahar port and Iranshahr airport, as Kuwait intercepts drone attacks and air raid sirens sound in Bahrain

US military officials said Wednesday that approximately 90 Iranian military targets were hit in their latest strikes, targeting air defense systems, missile and drone storage sites, and other assets.

The United States "completed an additional round of strikes against Iran, July 8, to further degrade Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping and innocent civilian mariners in the Strait of Hormuz," according to a statement posted to X by US Central Command (CENTCOM).

A massive fire was reported at a facility belonging to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force in Bushehr province after the US launched a new wave of strikes against Iranian military targets overnight, according to widely circulated videos and open-source accounts.

The footage has not been independently verified. Iranian authorities have not officially confirmed the extent of the reported damage.

The reported blaze comes as the US military said it struck dozens of 80 targets across Iran in retaliation for Iranian attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian state-affiliated media earlier confirmed explosions in and around Bushehr, but did not immediately specify which facilities had been hit or provide casualty figures. Residents reported hearing multiple blasts across the province.

The reported fire at the IRGC Aerospace Force site has fueled speculation that missile storage, drone infrastructure or command facilities may have been targeted, although neither Washington nor Tehran has released detailed damage assessments.

Open-source videos showing a large nighttime blaze remain unverified.

Iran's chief negotiator Bagher Ghalibaf has said the Strait of Hormuz will reopen only under what he described as "Iranian arrangements," signaling that Tehran intends to retain significant control over commercial shipping despite mounting international pressure.

The remarks by Ghalibaf, who is also the Iranian Parliament Speaker, come after the collapse of the recent ceasefire and renewed US military strikes on Iranian targets linked to maritime operations.

Tehran has argued that any future navigation through the strait must recognise its security role, while Washington and Gulf Arab states insist that international transit rights cannot be conditioned on Iranian approval.

The latest comments suggest Tehran is no longer negotiating merely over reopening the waterway but over who sets the rules governing passage.

That position is likely to complicate diplomatic efforts, as the US and its allies maintain that freedom of navigation through international straits cannot be made contingent on unilateral Iranian conditions.

A firefighter was killed in a reported US airstrike on Iranshahr Airport in southeastern Iran, Iranian state media said Thursday, as Washington widened its military campaign following the collapse of the US-Iran ceasefire.

According to Iran's state-run IRNA and the semi-official Mehr News Agency, the attack struck facilities at the airport, killing a firefighter and damaging the airport's flight operations building and meteorological station. The reports cited local officials, including the governor of Iranshahr and the deputy governor of Sistan and Baluchestan province.

The reported strike has not been independently verified, and the US military has not confirmed that Iranshahr Airport was among its targets.

Earlier, U.S. Central Command cknowledged launching another wave of strikes against Iran, saying the operation was intended to further degrade Tehran's ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz after Washington accused Iran of attacking commercial vessels transiting the waterway.

Iranian media reported explosions across several locations in southern and southeastern Iran, including Chabahar, Konarak, Bandar Abbas, and Iranshahr, indicating the latest campaign has expanded beyond the immediate Strait of Hormuz region.

If confirmed, the strike on Iranshahr Airport would mark another escalation in the conflict by hitting infrastructure in Sistan and Baluchestan, a province bordering Pakistan that has largely remained outside previous rounds of US military operations.

The airport serves civilian flights but has also been reported by open-source analysts to support some government and security activities, although the United States has not publicly identified it as a military objective.

Kuwait's air defences were intercepting "hostile missile and drone attacks", its military said early on Thursday.

Air raid sirens rang out in Bahrain early on Thursday, the interior ministry said, after the Iran Revolutionary Guards vowed to respond to US strikes on the Islamic republic. "The siren has been sounded," the interior ministry said in a post on X. "Citizens and residents are urged to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place."

The US has expanded its military campaign inside Iran to include transportation infrastructure, with Iranian state-affiliated media reporting strikes on a bridge in the northern province of Golestan and a railway line near Gorgan, in what would mark a significant escalation, if independently confirmed.

Fars News Agency reported that US strikes hit the Aq Tekeh Khan Bridge in Golestan province as well as sections of the Gorgan railway line, extending military operations deeper into northern Iran.

The reports could not immediately be independently verified. US military officials had not publicly confirmed the strikes as of early Thursday in Asia.

The reports currently originate primarily from Iranian media, including Fars, and have circulated on social media. The Pentagon has not publicly confirmed those specific targets.

US officials have reported a broader expansion of strikes against Iran, including strikes around Hormuz and targets in Chabahar.

US Vice President JD Vance on Iran: "The basic deal that we cut was 'we'll lift our blockade if you stop shooting at ships — but if you shoot at ships, we are going to punch back, and we're going to punch back harder than ever before.'"

Iranians were preparing on Thursday to bury their slain leader Ali Khamenei in his hometown of Mashhad in northeast Iran, as new US strikes threatened to trigger a fresh escalation in the Middle East war. The late supreme leader's burial follows a multi-day funeral ceremony that attracted millions of mourners across various cities in both Iran and Iraq.

Oil prices jumped sharply in early Asian trading Thursday after the United States launched military strikes on Iran's strategic port of Chabahar, escalating tensions days after the collapse of an April ceasefire and renewing concerns over disruptions to global energy supplies.

As of 7:49 a.m. Tokyo time on Thursday, Brent crude, the international benchmark, climbed 5.20% to $78.02 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 1.41% to $74.56.

Murban crude, Abu Dhabi's flagship export grade widely used by Asian refiners, surged 6.67% to $73.57, outpacing gains in other benchmarks. US natural gas edged 0.25% higher to $3.220.

The rally followed overnight U.S. strikes on military-linked targets in Chabahar, Iran's only oceanic port on the Gulf of Oman.

President Donald Trump warned late on Wednesday that US bombing of Iran will increase significantly if Tehran continues to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

"This is in retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will get much worse!" the US president posted on social media over a picture of an apparent bombing of a site in Iran.

The United States launched its first military strikes on the southeastern Iranian port city of Chabahar.

Power cuts had been reported across the city.

It marks the first known American operation in the area since the April ceasefire and significantly expanding the geographical scope of the conflict beyond the Strait of Hormuz.

Explosions were reported across Chabahar late Tuesday, with Iranian state media confirming widespread power outages in parts of the city after the attacks. Residents reported hearing multiple blasts while emergency services responded to damaged infrastructure.

According to US military officials, the strikes targeted maritime infrastructure and military facilities believed to support Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping.

The United States launched new strikes against Iran on Wednesday in a bid to curb Tehran's ability to target shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the US military said.

US forces "have started conducting additional strikes against Iran to further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz," US Central Command said on X, adding that Washington is "holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping."

Explosions were heard on Wednesday in the southern Iranian cities of Bandar Abbas and Sirik, both in Hormozgan province, according to Iran's Mehr news agency. The reports came after US President Donald Trump said the truce with Iran was over and threatened further action, while an Iranian minister warned of a “fearless” response.

The US military is carrying out strikes against Iranian military targets in the Strait of Hormuz area, Axios reported, citing a senior American official.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi made a call on Wednesday to the prime minister of mediator Qatar, during which they called for avoiding escalation following a flare-up with the United States.

"The two parties underscored the importance of using diplomatic means to resolve regional issues and emphasised the need to maintain contact and coordination to avoid an escalation of tensions in the region," an Iranian foreign ministry statement said of Araghchi's call with Qatar's Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.

Day 131: Trump tempers fury to end NATO summit on high note

Day 130: Iran reports explosions on sites around Hormuz Strait

Day 129: Body of Khamenei arrives in Qom ahead of procession

Day 128: Massive turnout at Khamenei funeral

Day 127: Massive turnout at Khamenei funeral

Day 126: Netanyahu, Trump agree to meet in US 'soon'

Day 125: Iran denounces US-led security summit of 12 nations

Day 124: Iran says Qatar talks with US on war MoU concluded

Day 123: Iran says US blockade stopped oil exports completely

Day 122: IRGC Navy spokesperson Akbarzadeh dies in car 'mishap'

Day 121: Iran warns against attacks from regional territory

Day 120: US–Iran ceasefire under strain as drones target Bahrain